Last updated on September 27, 2022
It is, indeed, that time of year again. The Ottawa International Animation Festival is less than 10 days away! Do you have your tickets yet? Are you going to just the festival, or TAC as well? Do you know thee difference? What the heck is TAC? How do I get tickets? If I have a pass, what is it good for, and do I need to know anything else? Why should I even go to this thing? I work in TV and I heard it’s all indie weird stuff.
I can try to answer a few of them here though.
These are all really valid questions! And you can find most of the answers at www.animationfestival.ca
What’s TAC? It’s The Animation Conference. It used to be called the Television Animation Conference, and it’s meant to be a place to go to talk about the business side of animation. I used to go ALL the time. It’s great to do once or twice, even if you’re not a producer or a distributor or any of those businessy things. I’m a firm believer in learning all you can about the field you’re in, including the various factors that might affect the kind of work you’re doing or being offered. There’s a lot of great fly on the wall stuff at this event. For the average working animator, it’s good to go at least once. There’s a boozy boat cruise you can go on too. And there are a lot of indie directors who attend, and there are speed pitching opportunities that help you build relationships with people you might want to pitch to.
As for the indie weird stuff. I can’t believe I have to say this, but it’s a thing. So many people working in the industry get a serious hate on for the “artsy” animation. Your preferences are your prerogative. But I will say this. If you’re someone who has any real respect for the craft, and you have any curiosity at all about anything beyond your current assignment, go. The festival showcases such a variety of work, it’s amazing. I’ve been going since 1992, I think. It can be confusing. But listen to me when I say, if the Festival has done it’s job then you can expect the following from the shorts screenings:
1) You will fall asleep to something.
2) You will get angry at something.
3) You will see something beautiful that makes you really think about what you do, how you do it, and maybe even why you’re doing it.
You owe it to yourself to share in this experience. Maybe you have a certain idea about what indie animation is, or what the NFB does. Maybe you will have your eyes opened to answers you didn’t expect. If you’re an artist, go be exposed to art that might not show up in your instagram feed. Expand your idea of animation. Or don’t. It’s up to you.
Anyhow, that’s my take on it. Go or don’t. But don’t get locked into an opinion unless you’ve experienced it.
Thank you for coming to my TED Talk.
mike
also, here are other links about the festival.
https://www.awn.com/event/oiaf-2022-happening-fall-person
https://www.awn.com/news/oiaf-2022-reveals-official-animated-shorts-competition-selections
weirdly, Cartoon Brew wouldn’t let me add the link directly, so just click on the logo below to read about the features playing at the festival this year.
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